First Gaelic Makar Peter Mackay on his plans to use poetry to tell a new story of Scotland

Gaelic poet Peter MacKay has been appointed as Scotland's fifth Makar. Picture: Lesley Martin/PA Wire | PA

A Hebridean poet unveiled as Scotland’s first Gaelic-speaking Makar has pledged to do more to promote the country as a multilingual nation - as he warned its cultural sector has reached a "crisis point" over its future funding.

Lewis-born Peter Mackay, Scotland's fifth national poet, believes the number of different languages spoken in modern-day Scotland should be seen as a sign of a strong and diverse country, rather than a source of separation or division.

First Minister John Swinney with new Makar Peter Mackay at the Central Library in Edinburgh. Picture: Lesley Martin/PA Wire | PA

The writer, broadcaster and academic wants to instigate new collaborations across different "communities and tongues" around Scotland.

He has pledged to build the legacy of the previous Makar, Kathleen Jamie, by writing about the natural world and the impact of climate change.

First Minister John Swinney with new Makar Peter Mackay at the Central Library in Edinburgh. | Supplied

Dr Mackay, unveiled as the new Makar by First Minister John Swinney, spoke out on the current "threats" to arts organisations and events across Scotland due to uncertainty over their future Scottish Government funding.

Dr Mackay, a senior lecturer in literature at St Andrews University, said more support needed to be offered to local communities to ensure Gaelic remained the “primary language” in its traditional heartlands.

He admitted a recent decline in the number of Gaelic speakers in his native Outer Hebrides was a "major concern”. The most recent census revealed that it had become a minority language in the islands for the first time.

He said: “My mother still has a poem I wrote when I was four years old. Growing up in Lewis is a remarkable thing because there is, and has always been, such a strong culture.

"My great grand-uncle was a Gaelic bard. My aunt is a very good Gaelic singer and collector of folk tales and songs from the oral tradition.

"There was a well-known short story writer in the next village. We knew three or four novelists in the north of Lewis.

"From a very young age, writing was a possibility. It wasn't an outlier. It was just something that you could do. I wrote all the way through school and had my first work published when I was still at secondary school.

"My appointment is definitely an important thing for the Gaelic community. I'm very wary of being a representative of anything, but all of the previous Makars have written in Scots to some extent. It's great to follow in their footsteps, but also add Gaelic into the mix."

Dr Mackay said his appointment was "timely" given the recent introduction of a Scottish Languages Bill in the Scottish Parliament.

"I think it is time for a wide-ranging discussion about all the languages of Scotland, how Gaelic and Scots are supported, and the kinds of conversations that can be had between Scotland’s more traditional languages and all of the languages that are being spoken here now.

"I have a real opportunity to add multiple languages into the mix of how we tell the story of contemporary Scotland as a multilingual, culturally diverse place, in ways where we can celebrate linguistic diversity as something that makes us stronger, rather than separates us or is divisive.”

Dr Mackay’s appointment was announced amid growing uncertainty over the future of arts funding in Scotland, after government agency Creative Scotland was forced to delay hundreds of long-term funding decisions until January due to uncertainty over the Scottish Government's future support for the arts.

Dr Mackay said: "It's very precarious right now. Much of Scottish culture is holding its breath. There is only so long anybody can hold their breath for.

“It is getting harder and harder to start anything new, and harder and harder to keep all the things going that have made Scotland such an interesting place to live, artistically and culturally. For a lot of people, it has been a very stressful time.

"Lots of organisations and events are under threat at the moment, and have had to make contingency plans if they don't get government funding or if it doesn't come up to the level that they would usually need.

"This is one of those major crisis points. We might be looking at a considerably different arts landscape in a few years, or we might have been able to keep things afloat and turn things around. The latter would be my hope."

Dr Mackay said the Scottish poetry scene was in “vibrant shape,” despite concerns about future funding for festivals and projects.

He added: “ When I was growing up in the 1980s and 1990s, we were aware of really good Scottish poets like Liz Lochhead and Norman MacCaig.

“In the last 20 years, there's been a new generation of poets, like John Burnside, Don Paterson and Kathleen Jamie, but there has also a lot more institutional support.

“"Younger poets have been encouraged into the scene by things like the Edwin Morgan Poetry Award, the growth of events like Stanza and Push The Boat Out, and the increasing focus on performance poetry, poetry slams, and the crossover between poetry and music.

"Breaking away from the page has been really important in bringing a lot more people to perform poetry and also listen to poetry.

"Someone like Len Pennie coming through in the last couple years and having the status that she has might have been unthinkable 20 years ago. There is an entirely different context and environment for poetry in Scotland now."